The present invention relates to a micromanipulator and a controller therefor, with six degrees of freedom, for enhanced precision positioning.
Most conventional X-Y stages are built in combination to provide multiple axes of motion and do not have coordinated axes. In other words, many commercial manufacturers stack one linear stage in the X direction upon a second linear stage in a Y direction and a third linear stage in a Z direction, in order to provide three degrees of freedom. These conventional systems do not provide software controls to allow the user to move the stages simultaneously, in order to get more than just individual joint-type motions. Coordinated motion is especially important when attempting to produce something as complex as drawing a circle on a piece of paper. As a non-limiting example, most people understand the principles behind an Etch-a-Sketch, which is controlled with two knobs, one for each of the of X and Y directions. It is very difficult to provide a circle type motion with an Etch-a-Sketch because both the X and the Y axes must be coordinated. This is the type of motion that the present invention simplifies and provides. Also, the present invention not only controls the position, but controls velocity and force as well.